Frequently asked questions:
- 1. What is this curriculum about?
- 2. When do I take this course?
- 3. What about grades?
- 4. Isn't "diversity" just
another term for "race"?
-
1. What is this curriculum about?
Many factors which are not purely physical can influence a
patient's health. This curriculum encourages you to learn about
some of these factors and to take them into account as you learn
to work with patients. For example, family, cultural, social,
economic, behavioral and community factors can all influence
both health problems and health solutions.
For example, suppose one of your patients is a 73 year old
woman with lung disease whose husband has severe arthritis and
abuses alcohol and tobacco. Your approach to this patient may
be influenced by her economic resources, her age, the norms of
her culture, availability of community services, extended family
support and more. Through this curriculum, we give you practice
in considering and addressing these types of complex interactions.
2. When do I take this course?
It doesn't work quite that way. This curriculum is not taught
as an individual course. Since this material is applicable to
all aspects of health care, we believe that it is more appropriate
to weave it throughout the PA program rather than to isolate
it in a single course.
Community health and diversity topics are addressed through
an introductory workshop, lectures, readings, seminars, and two
experiential community projects. Students are also offered opportunities
to participate in additional optional activities with affiliated
groups and to apply for grant support for student-initiated projects.
For an overview of the curriculum structure, go to curriculum
components.
3. What about grades?
All of the content of this curriculum is taught within other
PA program courses. You do not need to register separately for
this curriculum and you will not receive a separate grade for
it. You will receive grades regarding this material within the
other courses, however.
For example, your knowledge about childhood injury prevention
will be assessed in your pediatrics exams and your understanding
of farm safety will be tested during the prevention module of
the clinical medicine course. Your community project grades will
also be incorporated into other course grades. Individual course
requirements and objectives will clearly outline what we expect
of you at each point.
4. Isn't "diversity" just
another term for "race"?
Diversity defined:
We use a broad definition of cultural diversity which encompasses
any distinct group with unique health needs. This includes ethnic
or cultural groups, children, teenagers, elderly persons, people
with disabilities, people with substance abuse or mental health
problems, economically disadvantaged persons, and many more.
As we study defined groups, there is a risk of creating stereotypes.
We recognize that each person is a complex individual. Although
group status is important, individual patients embody or reject
group characteristics to various degrees. As we learn to work
with individual and group cultural variations, we will be better
prepared to address real health problems in a complex world.
Learning Objectives
Through this curriculum, students will accomplish the following
objectives:
Diversity and health
- Survey epidemiologic trends for common disease states with
regard to age, race, gender, and socioeconomic status.
- Identify social factors which commonly impact health.
- Discuss principles of preventive medicine.
- Develop preventive strategies appropriate for any individual
or population.
Cross-cultural communication
- Develop the ability to sensitively discuss with patients
social and cultural issues that influence health.
- Cultivate skills which enhance communication with patients
from diverse ethnic, socioeconomic, and cultural backgrounds.
Resource utilization
- Identify sources of information that are useful in learning
about cultural health beliefs and practices.
- Develop skills for locating resources for patients, including
community organizations, written materials, and Internet information.
- Gain experience in collaborating with community patient service
providers.
- Gain experience in collaborating with other medical professionals.
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